FWB ponders hiring consultant to solve vagrancy problem (DOCUMENT)

Published: Monday, January 27, 2014 at 06:12 PM.

FORT WALTON BEACH — City officials are considering hiring a consultant to help them solve the downtown vagrancy issue.

The City Council is scheduled to discuss the idea at 6 p.m. today.

The council first discussed hiring a consultant at its annual strategic planning meeting in April 2013 but the idea didn’t move forward.

Councilman John Mead recently asked City Manager Michael Beedie to place it on an upcoming agenda.

Mead said vagrants and panhandlers have become one of the city’s “biggest problems.”

“This issue is a real issue that we haven’t been able to address,” he said.

“We need somebody professional who does this.”

Mead said he’s heard from residents who avoid Fort Walton Landing and other city parks because they get harassed by the vagrants.

“The downtown merchants, they deal with this day in, day out,” he said. “The street corners all the way up to Yacht Club have people standing on the corners asking for money. ... It’s time for somebody to do something.”

Beedie said other cities in the state have successfully used these types of specialized consultants.

“I think exploring the possibility doesn’t hurt,” he said.

A contract could include a wide-range evaluation that could take three to four months. The consultant likely would create a steering committee, review existing efforts, assess problem areas, meet with local business owners and community leaders and deliver a set of recommendations to the City Council.

“They don’t focus on getting rid of the vagrants,” Beedie said. “They focus on the safety.”

He said he expects the contract would cost between $15,000 and $30,000.

FORT WALTON BEACH — City officials are considering hiring a consultant to help them solve the downtown vagrancy issue.

The City Council is scheduled to discuss the idea at 6 p.m. today.

The council first discussed hiring a consultant at its annual strategic planning meeting in April 2013 but the idea didn’t move forward.

Councilman John Mead recently asked City Manager Michael Beedie to place it on an upcoming agenda.

Mead said vagrants and panhandlers have become one of the city’s “biggest problems.”

“This issue is a real issue that we haven’t been able to address,” he said.

“We need somebody professional who does this.”

Mead said he’s heard from residents who avoid Fort Walton Landing and other city parks because they get harassed by the vagrants.

“The downtown merchants, they deal with this day in, day out,” he said. “The street corners all the way up to Yacht Club have people standing on the corners asking for money. ... It’s time for somebody to do something.”

Beedie said other cities in the state have successfully used these types of specialized consultants.

“I think exploring the possibility doesn’t hurt,” he said.

A contract could include a wide-range evaluation that could take three to four months. The consultant likely would create a steering committee, review existing efforts, assess problem areas, meet with local business owners and community leaders and deliver a set of recommendations to the City Council.

“They don’t focus on getting rid of the vagrants,” Beedie said. “They focus on the safety.”

He said he expects the contract would cost between $15,000 and $30,000.